When the Cleveland Indians signed Grady Sizmore to a one-year deal back in November, the biggest question mark was his health. He was the model of durability for the Tribe between 2005 and 2008, but his last three seasons have been marred by injury in a big way. He played in 106 games in 2009, but followed that up with just 33 in 2010 and 71 games in 2011. Those were predominantly knee injuries, but it looks like something else may force him to miss time in 2012.
Payl Hoynes of The Plain Dealer had a couple tweets on Friday, reporting that Sizemore is set to miss some time, starting with, of course, opening day:
#Indians CF Grady Sizemore (back) out for opening day.
Opening day is set for April 5, so the injury is definitely significant, even if the Indians are just being safe. Hoynes followed up with a tweet that Sizemore strained his lower back fielding grounders in the outfield two weeks ago. There's currently no timetable for his return, but it would be the second time in as many seasons that he's been on the disabled list to start a season, if the Indians place him on it, that is.
The Indians signed Sizemore knowing full-well that he'd undergone five operations over the last three years, including microfracture surgery in his left knee in 2010 and arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in 2011. His contract is pretty friendly for the team though, with incentives and things of that nature. Still, it's certainly not good news.
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